Connectivi-Tea Party

A great blessing in my life is to be part of a community. I am so thankful for my kids and that I get to stay at home with them--I am very aware that not everyone is able to do that, and I'm deeply grateful. However, being a stay-at-home mom can sometimes be kind of...isolating.

We got involved with a community group at our church ("Connect Groups")—a group to just study the Bible and live life with, who are in similar life stages as Stanley and I. It has been so refreshing.

I am never happier than when I am feeding people, and love throwing parties. I also love to be fancy, am sort of an Anglophile, and have always loved tea and the pretty accessories that go with it. I wanted to do something really special for these sweet women in this group, and to just get to hang out with and know them a bit better.

So we had a Connectivi-tea Party!

I asked each lady about their favorites: style, flower, color, movie/TV show, Bible verse, etc.

I bought fat-quarters of fabric (on sale at JoAnn's for $1!), and followed this great tutorial for napkins with mitered corners.

I based the menu on "favorites." See if you can guess which movie the different foods relate to! (answers at the end of the blog post ;)

Each person had their own personalized setting:

Lady One's style is "rustic Southwestern." She likes lavender flowers and the movie "The Sound of Music."

 I looked around at various thrift shops around town to find inexpensive dessert plates that went with each style if I didn't have one that matched.  I didn't pay more than $1 for anything!

Lady Two's style is "whimsical," she likes peonies, pink and "Star Wars."

I used King Arthur's great recipe for macarons.
And I modified this recipe for vegan chocolate ganache for the filling.
Comment if you would like to see any of the recipes!

I wrapped the ends of these with duct tape to look like light sabers 

Lady Three's style is "classical," she likes pink, lilies and "Law and Order: SVU."

Lady Four's style is "modern," she likes the color grey, daisies, and the new version of the movie "Pride and Prejudice."

And my setting :)  Periwinkle is my favorite color, I love all things lavender, and "The Princess Bride" is my favorite movie.  My style is sort of international? Classic? I don't know.  I just picked a plate and cup that I liked out of my collection.

We had so much fun!  Community is awesome!

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Mr. Darcy's Meat Pies = Pride and Prejudice

Shrieking Eel Salad = Princess Bride

Fraulein Maria's Apple Strudel = Sound of Music (I realized I spelled "fraulein" way wrong on the menu--my apologies to any German-speakers)

Frosted Light Sabers = Star Wars

Fin Tutuola's Ice-T = Law and Order SVU (get it? The actor Ice-T? I crack myself up sometimes)

Cucumber sandwiches and scones = mandatory at all tea parties